North Carolina’s Moore County Sheriff’s Office recently used a UAS to locate a missing 11-year-old child.
After arriving to the Jackson Springs, North Carolina residence where Moore County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched on the night of March 1, Moore County Sheriff’s Office Drone Pilot, Lieutenant Tim Davis immediately launched the department's DJI Matrice 210 UAS to search for the child. Within just 15 minutes, the UAS observed a heat signature in the wooded area approximately 100 yards from the residence across the highway.
Lieutenant Davis used his radio to direct deputies to the location of the heat signature, and the deputies located the child, sleeping under some thick tree limbs and brush.
Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement
Northeast Region UAS Unit begins proactive deployment of its UAS
According to a news release from the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department in Grand Forks, North Dakota, via the Grand Forks Herald, the Northeast Region Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit will begin proactive deployment of its UAS on March 1, which will allow officers that are trained as pilots to take UAS with them as they patrol their areas.
The unit has authorization to fly UAS anywhere in the nation, according to Sheriff's Lt. B.J. Maxson, who oversees the Northeast Region UAS Unit.
Before this week’s development, the unit had just two UAS, and required law enforcement to go to the Sheriff's Department to pick up the UAS. This meant that the unit was used as a reactionary measure.
Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus to offer UAS Law Enforcement Training course in April
From April 9-12, Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus and law enforcement partners will offer a training course specifically targeted at how first responders can use UAS in daily operations and safety procedures. The course will be held at the campus in Salina, Kansas.
Attendees of the course will be taught the necessary skills to operate UAS for specific law enforcement purposes. Pilots will receive hands-on flight training in several areas such as, but not limited to, accident scene reconstruction, search and rescue operations, and night operations.
Oklahoma's Broken Arrow Police seeing immediate benefits using new UAS
In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, the Broken Arrow Police Department says that its new UAS has proved beneficial in a variety of use cases over the last two months.
The UAS provides a real-time view from above, which officers say is very important when their special operations team is activated.
One recent use case for the UAS came a few weeks ago, when the UAS was deployed during a standoff. Via News on 6, officer James Koch says that “the initial information that we received was that there may be someone inside who could have someone held hostage.” Koch goes on to say that “we didn't know if there was anybody inside that was lying in wait.”
Texas game wardens optimistic that new UAS will have life-saving impact
Texas game wardens will use their new DJI Inspire 2 UAS to “enhance their ability to quickly and safely surveil hard to access areas during natural disasters and search and rescue operations.”
The UAS’ camera payload allows for real-time broadcast, providing the same live HD video feed to a large HD TV screen or monitor. With this feature, rescuers and command staff can have a live view that allows them to make “immediate and appropriate decisions that save lives.”
Wisconsin's Madison Police Department touts success of new UAS team
The Madison Police Department (MPD) in Madison, Wisconsin is touting the success of its new UAS team, after the technology was used to effectively tighten the search area for a missing Madison nursing home patient.
By surveying land from an aerial position, a search that would have potentially taken hours on foot was reduced to a 20-minute operation for officers.
Ohio Advisory Group on UAS issues final report that includes model policy for use by law enforcement
On Friday, Jan. 26, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that his Advisory Group on Unmanned Aircraft Systems issued its final report, which includes a model policy for use by law enforcement.
Along with the creation of a model policy, the report made 14 recommendations, which addressed various topics such as licensure, training, and data/records management.
NCDOT hosts UAS workshop for public safety agencies
On Wednesday, Jan. 24, more than 150 police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders attended a free workshop for public safety agencies that have already, or would like to soon, incorporate UAS into their operations.
Hosted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Division of Aviation Unmanned Aerial Systems Program Office, the program included scenario-based live flight demonstrations, as well as a panel discussion of current regulations and presentations from agencies that have already began taken advantage of this technology.
Colorado's La Plata County Sheriff's Office plans to start using UAS
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office in Durango, Colorado will start using UAS for certain emergency situations, after La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith said he planned to sign a policy allowing the department to use the county’s UAS on Jan. 25.
According to Smith, procedures will be in place to give approvals to use the county’s three UAS only during emergency situations after they have been requested by responding deputies.
AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems – Defense. Protection. Security. to Feature Array of Innovative Exhibitors, Feb. 6 to 8
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 25, 2018
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786